Iraq War and World War II Timeline Comparisons in Press Are Misleading

The press made a huge deal about the fact that the Iraq War has lasted longer than United States involvement in World War II.

The United States fought the Axis Powers for 1,347 days according to their timeline and the day that they made mention of it was when the Iraq War entered it's 1,348th day.

There's a few things that they left out of their figures.

The war against the Iraqi army lasted 28 days when the coalition partners declared the war against Saddam Hussein's government finished.

The ongoing sectarian violence and insurgency is not being waged by Saddam's government as it no longer exists. The resistance is being waged by people who want the U.S. out of Iraq, and want members of their specific religion in charge of Iraq. Some of them may have been part of Saddam's government, but they aren't exactly trying to put him back in charge, are they?

The media reports forgot to mention that lengthy occupations followed the end of World War II. They ignored the entire Cold War in Europe and the occupation of Japan which lasted longer than the actual fighting did.

For the record:

The war against Germany ended on May 2, 1945.
West Germany was declared fully sovereign on May 5, 1955.
East Germany was declared sovereign in 1955 as well, though the Soviet Union had primacy there through force of arms until 1989.

Both joined the United Nations in 1973.

The war against Japan ended on September 2, 1945.
Japan was declared fully sovereign in 1952; it joined the United Nations in 1956.

The press should report the rest of the story and not just the parts that they like.

Lisa Holland Sentenced to Life In Prison; More Indictments in Case are Possible

Lisa Holland was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole yesterday. The judge said that she enjoyed handing down this sentence a great deal due to the horrific nature of the crime which ended the life of her adopted son, Ricky Holland.

So much for the Hollands. Unfortunately, they are not out of the news yet. Both Lisa and her husband Tim are saying that they will appeal their convictions and sentences.

In addition, the state has opened full-scale investigations of other family members who knew the Hollands had killed Ricky and helped them concoct the tale that Ricky was missing; Lisa's dad is at the top of the list. Also, state agencies have been conducting their own reviews of their conduct in the case but won't comment until the criminal cases are completed.

Looks like this is going to be in the news for quite some time to come.

Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789 by President Washington

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

President George Washington

Iranian Plan to Fingerprint Americans Entering Their Country is Fine: But Who's More Likely to Send Suicide Bombers to Attack the Other?

Iran's parliament recently passed a law that mirror-images a U.S. law (that allows for fingerprinting of all Iranian nationals entering U.S. territory) with a law that requires all Americans entering Iran to likewise be fingerprinted. Both sides require that the other's citizens go through extensive background checks. The measure is now before the Iranian Guardian Council for final approval.

Question: is it more likely that Iran would send suicide bombers to the U.S. to hit American targets, or would America send suicide bombers to Iran to attack Iranian interests?

Who was it who said they had 40,000 suicide bombers ready for attacks against Western targets if there is a U.S./Iranian military confrontation over Iran's nuclear program? It sure wasn't the U.S. who said that.

The Iranians are free to do what they want to control entry of foreign nationals into their country, but they should acknowledge that the U.S. has that same right, especially in the face of their threats.

Judge Sentences Tim Holland to 30-60 Years for His Involvement in Murder of Ricky Holland

I've beat up on the Hollands enough in this space, so I'm through thumping them, but the judge in the case was not in a similar mood and decided to go straight for the jugular, sentencing Tim Holland to 30-60 years for his involvement in the killing of his seven-year-old son, Ricky.

The sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of 13.5 to 22 years, but the presiding judge decided that wouldn't cut it and imposed a much more severe sentence for his failure to act.

His wife is to be sentenced in a couple of weeks.

My only comment is that I hope that the stiffer sentence doesn't lead to a protracted appeal. The ugly mood that festered down here during the trial has abated and most want the Hollands out of the news as soon as possible.

OJ Simpson is OUT of His Mind: New Book Describes How He Would Have Killed His Ex-Wife IF He Was to Do It

OJ Simpson is insane.

What other explanation is there for this?

He's publishing a book on how he would have killed his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman, HAD he been involved.

But he WAS involved. He avoided going to prison but was found responsible for their deaths in a civil trial, which lead to the judgment of $33.5 million against him.

Every penny he makes off of this should go toward paying off this judgment. What a dirty rotten thing to do.

Fox should not promote OJ's book by giving him interview time on their channel, and bookstores should avoid carrying the book like the plague. He needs to go back into his hole that he crawled into after the trial, and stay there.

Revolting.

Before Too Many Republicans Tuck Tail and Run, They Need to Remember That They're Still on the Taxpayer Time Clock

Republicans like Senator Lincoln Chafee need to remember that they're STILL in office, STILL on the taxpayer time clock and BEHOLDEN to fulfill the promises that they made to those who elected them six years ago.

The new Congress isn't seated until January, so this Congress is still very much in session. There's still work for them to do.

The recent election sets a mandate for the 110th Congress and for the President to follow. But the current Congress already has a mandate from prior elections that they should honor until they recess and the new Congress takes over.

They need to get back to work, and stop wasting time.

If they decide to keep the seat warm and do nothing, they should resign immediately and get off the taxpayer time clock. We aren't paying them to keep the seat warm and vote themselves pay raises until January. There's been enough of THAT already.

Arab Leaders Have Good Reason to Be Uncomfortable With Saddam's Death Sentence

This is not an endorsement of the death penalty on my part by any means.

Arab governments are beginning to register their discomfort with Saddam Hussein's death sentence.

Egypt's President Mubarak has made it clear that he is against the Iraqi government hanging Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity for fear of an escalation of violence in Iraq between Saddam's supporters and everyone else. Other Arab leaders are also squirming.

I notice that not one has publicly come to Saddam's defense or to protest the immorality of the death penalty the way many Western governments have.

Here's what Mubarak and other Arab leaders meant: "Oh crap. If Saddam can be tried, found guilty and sentenced to death for crimes against humanity, what happens if our own people get the same notion against us?"

Some Middle Eastern governments should be squirming for what they've done to their own people.

Defection of GOP Senator Sinks Ambassador Bolton's Nomination to United Nations: Who Will President Bush Nominate Now?

John Bolton's days as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations appear to be numbered as the Senate Foreign Relations committee is deadlocked over allowing an up or down vote on his faltering nomination.

A tie vote is the same as a 'no' vote; Republicans had the upper hand until Senator Chafee lost his re-election bid on Tuesday and decided the election results were a mandate for change on how business is being done in Washington. He made up his mind about supporting the nomination of Bolton in that spirit, which created a tie in the committee. The incoming Democratic majority leadership called further discussion of a Bolton nomination as "pointless" so his candidacy is all but dead.

This is not an altogether bad thing; Bolton had a reputation for being an abusive boss before; he has a reputation at the U.N. as being confrontational; diplomacy is about building consensus and Bolton doesn't help his own cause with his tactics. This was not a good choice to begin with; hopefully President Bush will nominate someone who is better suited to the position.

Bush Finally Allows Rumsfeld to Resign; Robert Gates Nominated to Be New Defense Secretary

Finally, some common sense from the White House.

Donald Rumsfeld was finally allowed to resign by President Bush yesterday; Robert Gates was introduced as the new nominee for the post.

It's unfortunate that the President waited so long to replace Rumsfeld; it should have happened after the Abu Gharib sex scandal in 2004, when Rumsfeld offered to resign. Bush said "no" then, but he should have said "yes" and put his Secretary of Defense out to pasture.

Why the Administration didn't forsee the insurgency or Iraq becoming a magnet for terrorists and jihaddis was never articulated by Rumsfeld; nor was an effective battle plan to deal with them developed by the Pentagon under Rumsfeld's watch.

Hopefully Gates (or whomever is eventually nominated if it isn't Gates) listens to his generals when they say they need more men and arms over there, or when they say that things are as good as they're going to get and it's time to start drawing back our forces and redeploying them elsewhere in the world. Rumsfeld turned deaf when told it would take an army of 400,000 to secure Iraq properly, and then fired generals who wanted more "boots" to get the job done right.

He was arrogant and didn't listen to his people in uniform.

It was very unfortunate that he wasn't more flexible in maintaining sufficient heavy divisions but allowed them to bleed out in favor of lighter more mobile divisions. Lighter and mobile is good, but not for Iraq. Nor for North Korea. These are plans that are going to need to be rethought by the new SecDef. The military was resistant to those changes to their structure in the first place, but Rumsfeld didn't care.

Bye bye, Don Rumsfeld.

Democrats Take Over House: GOP Did This To Themselves

It appears that the Democrats did very well for themselves this time around, capturing control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

How bad the GOP did is still in the air and will be for some time to come as a number of Senate races are still too close to call.

President Bush and the GOP did this to themselves by not doing what they were supposed to over the last year with regards to illegal immigration, spending, fighting corruption and improving the situation in Iraq. They allowed election year politics to interfere with doing their j-o-b-s.

In some cases, moderate Republicans were defeated by conservative Democrats. That's not an altogether bad thing.

It will be interesting to see how this shapes up in the coming weeks and months. But if the Democrats go too liberal on the issues, they may make themselves as vulnerable as the GOP was in this election for the next time around.

Kerry Issues Apology To Military Personnel: Better Late than Never

Democratic leaders got hold of John Kerry very early today and "sent out a call for duct tape" according to Katie Couric and Bob Schieffer at CBS News. It was kind of funny to see how they described Kerry as being "taken out to the woodshed" by the party and that he was under orders to keep his mouth shut.

The apology itself was satisfactory, though he didn't mean it. He was pressured into making the statement by his fellow Democrats, who were worried about the splash that Kerry was making.

This very public thumping is very bad news for Kerry's hope of a 2008 presidential run.

(Awww, too bad.)

Kerry Will Be Democratic Scapegoat If Dems Don't Carry House and Senate

Senator Kerry acts upset when people don't believe that he didn't mean to insult the U.S. military, yet his history of playing both sides is entirely of his own creation. He's a master flip-flopper, as was demonstrated during the fiery Presidential campaign of 2004. Many people just don't believe him because of his history.

The Senator should apologize for giving offense instead of digging in his heels and trying to shift the story to President Bush. Everyone is well aware of the Bush Administration's faltering Iraq policy, but that is NO excuse for taking a pot shot at the military that is carrying out the orders that the civilian leadership gave them, WITH Senator Kerry's now-famous 'yes' vote on the Iraq War resolution.

Botched joke or not, he owes the military an apology for making a highly insulting comment.

The Democrats now have a scapegoat if they don't carry both the House and Senate. The groans from Democrats began almost immediately and have been reverberating from coast to coast ever since. No one thought that a Democrat as prominent as John Kerry would deliver the October Surprise to aid the GOP.

And this is the first time in a long while that Limbaugh, Hannity AND Savage have been in total agreement on their respective radio shows. That's amazing in itself.

It's highly doubtful that Kerry will be out of the news by tonight as a CNN analyst predicted. The Republicans are just going to keep egging Kerry on, and Kerry's going to keep responding, unless the Democratic party leaders get control of him.

I think it's safe to say that Senator Kerry has guaranteed an increase in conservative voter turnout next Tuesday. Should be interesting to see what effect this has on campaigns around the country.